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Raymond Ozoji, Awka
Eighteen out of the 20 ward chairmen and women leaders of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) in Ihiala local government area of Anambra state have blatantly refused to honour the invitation of the incumbent representative of the constituency Hon. Ifeanyi Chudi Momah.
A source from Azia who spoke with our correspondent on the basis of anonymity alleged that Momah had invited the APGA faithful to Abuja to witness his purchase of nomination and expression of interest forms but the party ward leaders in their numbers blatantly and boldly rejected the invitation on the grounds that they were solidly behind the Deputy Speaker of the House of Assembly Rt. Hon. Dr. Paschal Agbodike, who is also eyeing the Ihiala federal constituency seat.
The source said, “Ihiala local government consist of four zones. That in 2019 there was an agreement between the four zones that there would be rotation with respect to political offices. There are four political offices that come to Ihiala which are the Federal House of Reps, the State House of Assembly for constiuency one and two and then the Chairman of the local government. These are the elective offices in Ihiala.
“As it stands today in constituency one, the office of the Chairman is being occupied by someone from Ihiala town; the office of Ihiala constituency one is being occupied by an Amorka man from Uli-Amorka zone and we have the federal constiuency seat being occupied by an Okija man. Then Ihiala constiuency two seat being occupied by an Ebonesie man.
“This zoning formula in Ihiala was agreed upon and signed by all the presidents-general of the 10 communities in Ihiala local government area together with their traditional rulers. This very document was the only reason why the incumbent member representing Ihiala federal constituency was able to find himself in Abuja today.
“This time around the incumbent Federal House Member is from Okija zone and in Okija zone we have a former Federal House Member in the person of Hon. Emeka Anohu who have served for four years and we now have the incumbent who is also serving another four years to make it eight years for Okija zone and power shifts to Ebonesie zone according to the zoning arrangements.
“So as it stands today, the All Progressives Grand Alliance have started selling their nomination forms and 18 out of the 20 wards in Ihiala local government refused to be taken to the charade in Abuja for the purchase of forms by the incumbent who wants to usurp and flout the agreement in Ihiala local government. The two out of the 20 wards where the chairmen agreed to go with them were Okija ward 4 and Okija ward 5.
“The rest of the wards in Ihiala local government namely Azia, Osumoghu, Mbosi, Iseke, Lilu, Ubuluisiuzo, Amamu A, Amamu B, Ihite, Ogboro, Uzoakwa, Uli ward one, Uli ward two, Uli ward three and Amorka, all the chairmen and women leaders refused to go to Abuja because they said they must adhere to the zoning agreement in Ihiala local government.”
The source however maintained that the incumbent was scheming so hard to force himself on the people of Ihiala but according to the source, the incumbent’s interest is inconsequential in the present circumstance because his aspiration cannot change the zoning formula he was a beneficiary.
The source further alleged that the incumbent had fought tooth and nail to scuttle Soludo’s victory in Ihiala local government area during the 2021 Governorship Election following his romance with the All Progressives Congress (APC). The source also disclosed that the incumbent representative was currently in another clandestine romance with Young Progressives Party (YPP) just in case APGA fails him.
The source from Azia however noted that the Deputy Speaker Rt. Hon. Dr. Paschal Agbodike was already in good stead for the Ihiala federal constituency seat as he had plethora of projects to his credit.
It said Agbodike has been able to attract Azia-Isseke-Mbosi-Ukpor road; attracted schools; installed street lights; empowered so many people and provided jobs for so many youths, adding that the Deputy Speaker ranks top amongst all the aspirants for Ihiala federal constituency seat.
The source said, “The Deputy Speaker’s role in the 2021 Governorship Election cannot be overemphasized. He stood firm. Fought tirelessly and delivered APGA in Ihiala local government area when others were aligning with APC and other opposition parties to make sure APGA lost the election.”
When contacted for his reactions on three different occasions, Hon. Chudi Momah did not respond to phone calls as he kept on rejecting calls from the journalist.
